Thursday, December 30, 2010

Adventures in Urban Ministry



This is another installment of, Adventures in Urban Ministry...

Urban ministry is not for the faint of heart. Certainly "urban" has many meanings, and our church is at a kind of a crossroads. We are located in a gentrifying area. One side is poverty, no other way to describe it. Abandoned buildings, next to buildings that should be condemned, next to half way decent homes... all lined up and joined together in typical Philadelphia row house fashion. Most are inhabited. As near as I can tell, most are inhabited by working class people and poor folk. Around the corner, Parkside Ave. Beautiful, upscale properties with easy access to the zoo, the park, the School of the Future and a new museum. The people are a mixed lot. Reminiscent of the people in the text I am preaching from next Sunday in Acts 16. Where we find Lydia (the purple cloth dealer), a slave girl, and a jailer. 3 people from 3 different economic, social, and psychological backgrounds. This resembles the population we have around our church.

What follows here is 2 sets of dialogue between myself and my friends on Facebook, regarding 2 status updates I posted about a particular young man I noticed in the hood.

Dialogue #1

FH: OK, peep this. Dude across the street from the church... good looking, clean cut, young black man. Lives in a home that kind of looks like a shack, but is rolling in a 100K Benz. Brand spankin' new joint. Am I wrong for what I'm thinking?
December 23 at 12:43pm


KH, Umm...I guess we both are...'cause I'm thinking the same thing!
December 23 at 12:45pm · Like

FH, LOL. I don't want to stereotype, because somebody is likely doing the same with me every day! Even though I'm not pushing the 100K joint. LOL
December 23 at 12:46pm · Like

AP, At least we have progressed with the times I remember that same dudes dad and uncles parking a caddy in the front yard in newark.
December 23 at 1:00pm · Unlike · 2 people

GF, Whhaaaaack. Priorities not in line...
December 23 at 1:00pm · Unlike · 1 person

FH, That was my other thought G. Whether he's slingin' or not, he's sure stupid... then again, maybe he's stacking what he's saving on the mortgage?
December 23 at 1:03pm · Like

CB, and watching the stacks dwindle with the depreciation on the car.
December 23 at 1:21pm · Unlike · 1 person

FH, Which is why you are in charge of the money CB!
December 23 at 1:22pm · Like

RPM, No you're not wrong...matter of fact, you should go tell the brother exactly what you're thinking!!!
December 23 at 3:27pm · Like

FH, I definitely should engage the brother.
December 23 at 3:29pm · Like

MW, I engaged someone once and he told me that everyone is different, he'd rather ride and rent than own...at the time his car cost as much as a house in B-more...so be prepared for ignorance being bliss :)
December 23 at 5:01pm · Unlike · 1 person

FH, M, I have a term for that kind of thinking. Unfortunately I've experienced it all too often.
December 23 at 5:32pm · Like

CM, He probably loves that car more than anything. Bet he doesn't have a garage. Who parks that on the street? Oh, yeah. Somebody living in a shack.
December 23 at 7:55pm · Like

FH, LOL. Exactly. Who parks that on G Ave in the hood?!?! LOL!!!
December 23 at 7:58pm · Like

KW, I have cousins on G Ave in Philly so I've been in that area often. Rev he slinging! Please update us if you decide to engage.
December 23 at 8:28pm via Facebook Mobile · Unlike · 1 person

FH, We definitely have dealers in the hood! We'll see. I'm going to introduce myself just like I do with the cats outside on the corner.
December 23 at 8:57pm · Like · 1 person

MT, Keep us up-dated on this one F. It is very difficult to speak words that change life-styles.
December 24 at 3:12pm · Like

MW, Hey, I just thought about the women with the minks and paying rent...I refused to hang a mink in a rented closet, but that's me. Yeah, chat with the brother but be prepared :).
December 24 at 5:29pm · Unlike · 1 person


Dialogue #2


FH, Remember the brother with the 100K car on W. G Ave? Talked to him. Yup, he's slingin'. Insightful "conversation" about a space he shoveled out in front of the church. He knows my name now... for sure.
December 30 at 1pm · · Like · Comment


MG, Maybe I need to talk to him wit my boys.
2 hours ago · Like

TC, That's what's up keep touching that community ...your doing great brother/mentor/father figure/friend/bro/homeslice/fellowblackman/R.U. Peeps/S.A.I. Peeps.../ etc....LOL
2 hours ago via Facebook Mobile · Like

JN, LMBO! Rev, pray tell. what did u say to this poor guy?
2 hours ago · Like

FH, Hopefully I sowed a seed. That's all I can say. Oh, and he knows "my heart don't pump no Kool-Aid."
2 hours ago · Like · 1 person

JN, LMS, PF, it's nice to hear of u + M's burgeoning dedication to this church + community. Keep on keeping on... + Best wishes for the NY.
2 hours ago · Like

KH, Did he seem some what "receptive" to what you were saying during the convo?
about an hour ago · Like

FH, I think he felt convicted by my choice of words and my mannerisms. I was firm.
about an hour ago · Like

FH, Just bumped into the brother on my way out of the church. He apologized. He said he was in the wrong, and I invited him to church.
about an hour ago · Like · 1 person

MH, Powerful....it is also amazing to me how God utilizes all of our life experiences and brings them to bear into our purpose. You needed to be just who you are to Pastor "where" you are....I am also thankful for the Holy Spirits intervention! Thank ya!~ (in my Pentecostal get your shout on voice)
a few seconds ago · Like


Like I said, urban ministry isn't for the faint of heart!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Subject: Preapred in advance by my mom - A.


A message from one of my own personal angels, which breaks my heart a little, though it fills me with joy. She manages to capture so much of what I feel, and so much of what I want to say about Christmas. I'm sure she prepared many of these notes for the many she looked over and prayed for daily. Love you Colette.



Merry Christmas Fred!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charles Dickens

My sentiments exactly about the season I find myself in. Best. Worst. Wisdom. Foolishness. Belief. Incredulity. Light. Dark. Hope, Despair. Everything. Nothing. Heaven. especially now...heaven. Christmas is a mixed bag for me. I absolutely detest the "Disneyfication of Christianity" (Don Cupitt) that much of 'the holidays' embodies. But it is in thinking about Christmas that I understand these words of Jesus, "Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal." (John 12:24-25)

The moment Jesus landed on this earth, taking meetings with Magi, and ensuring that manger making will forever be a respectable occupation, he started to die. Slowly at first, double speed as time went on. Joy to the world. Dead to the world. That truth helped me to embrace today more fully, appreciate it for what it really is...the beginning of a miraculous ending which was the cause and catalyst for countless miraculous beginnings, not the the other way around. As I write this Christmas is still a ways off, but I can sense things speeding up. There remains real joy in this for me. Clear eyed joy. Not wild and crazy too good to be true joy, but true enough to be good to me and for me joy. So today I will celebrate. Today I am excited, expectant, and energized about the beginning up ahead for me. So today, for me, follow the instructions of Jesus: let your love go, be reckless in it, because love never fails, never ends, never dies.

Love,
Colette

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Power Points From This Week's Sermon, 12/19/2010






This week's sermon focused on Matthew 1:18-25, "God Is With Us"...

1.—Your Lineage Does Not Determine Your Destiny—
Jesus’ lineage isn’t defined by Tamar, Rahab, Ruth or Bathsheba anymore than it is defined by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Joseph ties Jesus to the line of King David, but the tie to the Davidic line isn’t a manifestation of biological descendents; it’s a product of divine connection.

2.—Following God’s Plan Always Involves a Choice—
Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem, and so you’ve got to be able to follow the leading God, if you want to be a part of God’s plan. Joseph made a hard choice, even going against his own convictions, and the result of choosing God is the divine revelation that situates him in the middle of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity.

3.—The Right Choice Will Lead You to Your Destiny—
Not only was Joseph the recipient of divine revelation, but making the choice to follow God’s plan allowed him to fulfill his own purpose and destiny in God. He became the adopted father of the one who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; sent to save His people; the Messiah… Joseph was granted the privilege of raising the King of Kings as his own son.

4.— He is our Emmanuel—
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel —which means, ‘God is with us’”
Jesus came to this earth 2000 years ago, and His presence… WITH US… today is no less than it was when He walked the earth. How can I be so sure? The gospel tells us. Matthew begins his gospel with the angel’s announcement of the birth of Jesus, who is Immanuel, “God is with us,” and Matthew ends his gospel with the resurrected Jesus saying: “Surely I am WITH YOU always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20).


Jesus’ birth and mission is not about being born into the right family… the right conditions… or the right circumstances. His birth is about Emmanuel… God with us…

The Christmas story is about the fact that God can step into our imperfect lives and walk WITH US through the realities of the lives we live; and we can look back over our lives and declare “God you were with me.”

Rev. Frederick A. Hanna

Come out and join us one Sunday at FAPC!!!

What quality would you most like people to notice when they meet you?